


A Place of Our Own

by haemies



Series: Humblest Pleasures [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Apartment hunting, Established Relationship, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan is Whipped, M/M, Making Out, Slice of Life, soft boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:41:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27726973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haemies/pseuds/haemies
Summary: Mark and Donghyuck go apartment hunting for their first home together.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Humblest Pleasures [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938166
Comments: 12
Kudos: 102





	A Place of Our Own

**Author's Note:**

> CONTENT WARNING: There are mentions and descriptions of food in this chapter. Please be safe while reading.  
>   
> There are no mentions of body issues or eating disorders in this chapter but in light of the content warning previously given (food is not a bad thing but there are people who can’t read or see pictures of it when they’re not eating, so this is here as a precaution), I just wanted to add a few articles you can read if you are struggling with anything of the sort. I dont know much but I'm always willing to listen if you need someone to talk to.
> 
> Please remember that you are worthy of being confident and well in your body, no matter your size.
> 
> Body image: [click here](https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/feelings-and-symptoms/body-image)
> 
> Weight & Body Image Disorders: Causes, Symptoms & Signs: [click here](https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/body-image)
> 
> Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Mental Health: [click here](https://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/infosheet/body-image-self-esteem-and-mental-health)
> 
> For my fellow LGBTQ+ folk
> 
> Body image and eating disorders in the LGBTQ+ community: [click here](https://themeadowglade.com/body-image-and-eating-disorders-in-the-lgbtq-community)
> 
> Changing the Conversation around LGBTQ+ People and Body Image: [click here](https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/blog/i-love-my-lgbt-body)
> 
> The LGBT body image problem: [click here](https://www.turning-point.co.uk/blog-home-archive/the-lgbt-body-image-problem.html)

**DONGHYUCK**

Mark’s groan still rang in his ear.

As soon as he walked in and saw the elaborate set-up Donghyuck had prepared, Mark closed his eyes, fingertips pressed to his temples probably thinking of all the complaints that would fall short in a matter of minutes.

“You said a lazy night in.” Mark muttered, pointing in front of him.

Donghyuck followed his hand, eyes roaming across his bed almost completely covered from the notebooks, the grey hoodie he wore in the dorm, Mark’s sweet potato snack, the fluffy pillows pushing his computer way too close to the edge of the mattress. The apple scent swirling in the air, reaching his nostrils as he stood in front of the now closed door of his room, reminding him he definitely had to thank his cousin for gifting him a pack of candles he would never had bought on his own.

“You didn’t forget.” Donghyuck smiled, reaching for the strap of the guitar case and lifting it from his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“I didn’t, but what’s all of this? We’re supposed to look at apartment listings.”

That was the original plan. When they first agreed on a weekend that found both of their schedules relatively empty, Donghyuck had truly only planned for a long night of meticulously going through all the apartment listings they could find.

But then his roommate climbed on his bed, naked feet on his covers, struggling to grab a black trolley from the top of the dresser. That was when his plans changed.

“Well— _yes_ , but like I told you, Sanghwa isn’t coming back until Monday morning. So you might as well stay over.”

Mark turned back to him, squinting for a few, brief seconds before a smile loosed on his face. “Fine, but we really do need to start picking a few apartments.”

“We will,” Donghyuck said, stopping in front of him to leave a quick peck on his lips. “Just let me play a song for you, I’ve been practising.”

“If we start playing now we won’t get anything done.”

“Just one.” He said, left index finger up in the air.

“Later.”

“One—“

“Later.” Mark interrupted him with a short kiss, taking the guitar from his hands to lay it against his bedside table.

“Fine.” Donghyuck pouted, sinking down onto his bed and grabbing his computer to lay it on his legs.

There were at least twenty tabs already opened from Donghyuck opting to scroll through different housing websites instead of doing research for his Introduction to Comparative Politics class, a few others pulled from their Kakaotalk chat throughout the week.

Mark scooted closer to his side until Donghyuck’s knee pressed onto the outer side of his thigh, and—like all the cats Donghyuck loved comparing him to—dropped his head on his shoulder.

“Did we really send this many?” He gasped lightly.

“We might’ve gotten a little ahead of ourselves.” Donghyuck chuckled, not even bothering to read through all the villas or high-end lofts they dreamt of and closing nearly half of the tabs to both of their dismay. Maybe the next time they did this, they would be able to afford something fancier.

But for now, they settled on small apartments. One bathroom, open kitchen and a separate room to keep their privacy if they were ever to have people over. Affordable two-room apartments were hard to come by, however, after two whole hours changing websites, they were able to find a few.

What got between them wasn’t the amount of rooms in the house. It was Mark deadset on having natural light in, at least, their room and Donghyuck trying to explain it would come at a price—not only from their pockets but his sleeping schedule as well.

“Even prisoners have windows in their cells.”

“I can’t sleep if it’s bright, you know this.”

“Then we buy curtains.”

Donghyuck groaned, eyes rolling. “Hyung, we’re already spending a shit ton of money on rent. Not to mention the deposit, have you seen the amounts these people are asking for? We can’t spend money on unnecessary things like curtains right now. Not having a window in our room would fix that problem.”

Although Mark yielded, it wouldn’t last long. Donghyuck pushed it aside, telling himself he could come with better arguments until the next time Mark brought it up again—which would probably be on their open visits.

For now, he sat back, swung his legs over his boyfriend’s lap and sighed at the light caresses and lingering touches to the back of his knees and up his thigh.

A complaint hang in the air as his computer fell backwards onto the mattress. Donghyuck, with his brows pulled together, rested his laptop on the left side of his butt, doing the utmost to keep it balanced while Derek DiScanio sang on and on about how lucky he would be if his lover were to stay for a while and he couldn’t help but agree when Mark chuckled next to him, munching away on the sweet potatoes treat he loved so much.

“You can’t blame the computer for falling, look how you’re sitting right now.” Mark said, squeezing the back of his thigh with his clean hand. “Are you even comfortable?”

“This is the worst position I’ve ever been in.”

“Then sit back, silly.”

“No.” He stopped scrolling, glaring at him with all of his might falling short to his boyfriend’s dirty lips. With a grimace on his face, his heart heavy at the sight, Donghyuck’s left palm covered his lips, his chin, wiping away the crumbs. “You’re so gross sometimes.”

Behind his hand, Mark’s eyes fell closed as he planted chaste kisses to his skin. Like he said, it _could_ be a little disgusting, with the grease on Mark’s upper lip, the crumbs on the corner of his mouth, but Donghyuck would be damned if he didn’t love it so much—if it didn’t make him return the smile his boyfriend gave him because this was what he wanted in the first place.

Having Mark close, where he could reach him with a bend of his arm, a stretch of his fingers. Having Mark nuzzle his face further into his touch and make the blood rush all the way to his cheeks. Just having Mark there.

“Now I’m hungry,” Donghyuck announced to Mark’s immediate response of chucking the sweet potatoes to him. “No, I want Sundae. And deep-fried squid.”

Mark swallowed, licking his lips when he retrieved his hand. “I thought you said we couldn’t spend money for now.”

“I said we couldn’t spend money on _unnecessary_ things. Food is a human necessity.”

“Yes, and we have food right here.”

“But I want tasty Sundae.” Donghyuck insisted. “And you always eat my fried squid too.” He continued, tugging at his boyfriend’s sleeve. “Please?”

“Fine,” Replied Mark, smile betraying the rolling of his eyes. “But you’re paying.”

Donghyuck called, making sure to remember to ask for garlic and beans for the Sundae. He waited in silence for the worker to pick up, to place his other order and hang up while Mark did the same, going back to resting his head on his shoulder, laying kisses on his hand and lowering the volume because Donghyuck couldn’t push the phone further into his ears to listen without possibly hurting himself. 

The food arrived quickly, Donghyuck received it all with a smile, a short bow of his head after he was finished paying for everything, going back to find one of Mark’s hands resting on the floor, the other extending underneath his bed to pull the tray out, cleaning it with the sleeve of his grey sweater and setting it down on the bed.

The Sundae greeted them all full and rich, cut into small pieces, dark meat glistening with the ceiling light. Mark silently held onto the deep-fried squid, crunching noises sounding through the room with every little bite he took.

Donghyuck’s body shook involuntarily from side to side at the taste, the same way he had seen Mark do the first few times they shared a meal together.

“So much better than your awful sweet potatoes snack.” He sighed happily, fingers stopping on his boyfriend’s arms, tugging lightly so Mark would put his plate down and he could leave a few pieces of sausage there.

Dinner went by with Donghyuck stealing all the crispy legs from the deep-fried squid—all the rare pieces of Sundae and chucking the more well-done ones to Mark’s side. Mark shook his head, mouth pinched into a tight smile as he chewed and watched Donghyuck throw the dirty plates inside the plastic bag, leaving it on the floor by his bedroom door along with the tray.

When he sat back down on the bed, grabbing his computer once again with Mark’s pleading in the background, Donghyuck opened Doyoung’s Netflix account, scrolling through the romantic comedies section and settling on the first poster that caught his attention.

Despite having mostly similar interests (with the exception of a few things), their tastes didn’t intercept much. Where Mark liked action or science fiction media, Donghyuck preferred romance and comedy. Sometimes Mark would find experimental indie movies, mostly courtesy of his older friend group and their film majors, but no matter how good looking Jaehyun was, Donghyuck could never actually make it past the first half an hour of anything he sent them. And Mark had become extremely interested in all types of documentaries he put his hands on, the same hands Donghyuck would hold onto while Mark whispered in shock and wonder that the Pyramids of Giza could be much older than scientists originally believed.

So his boyfriend would always do the same, Mark would whine and pout while his pick of the night loaded, but then he would lay beside him, let him throw his legs over him again and play with his fingers, his hair, while Donghyuck laughed at the driest of jokes or cried with the overdramatic moments.

Mark settled in his neck, breath fawning over his skin as he mumbled something Donghyuck couldn’t catch. “What?” He sniffled.

“This is boring.”

“You can sit through one movie with me. It’s been like two weeks since you told me you’d watch anything I wanted.”

“But this one is boring,” Mark repeated.

Donghyuck pinched his leg playfully, “Sucks to be you, I guess.” He joked.

What sucked wasn’t Mark’s existence, the murmured complaints against his shirt or his breath growing heavier as if he were about to fall asleep. No. What sucked, precisely an hour and thirteen minutes into the movie, was Mark—latching onto the left side of his neck, starting with fleeting kisses and growing into laps of his tongue against his skin.

“It won’t work,” He noted. “I’m finishing the movie.”

In response, Mark nuzzled his face further down onto the space between his shoulder and his neck, taking his time to lay kisses everywhere he could reach from his current position with his right arm lazily thrown over Donghyuck’s waist behind his computer and going back to whispering things he couldn’t understand.

“What?”

“I said let’s see how long you last.” Mark smiled at him once he backed away to speak.

“Please,” Donghyuck scoffed. “Do you think a few neck kisses are enough to get to me?”

“Yes. You love neck kisses.”

Donghyuck pinched his leg again, remembering all the bruises he had sucked at the bottom of Mark’s throat a week prior. “That’s funny coming from you.” He retorted jokingly, unable to deny what had been said because it was true.

Despite being completely platonic with Renjun and his friend always groaning, he never made any real effort to push Donghyuck away when he started attacking him with kisses, Yangyang only laughing and elbowing him softly when Donghyuck turned his attention onto him.

But, of course, it was different with Mark. His kisses weren’t the same. His intentions weren’t the same. Donghyuck’s hands always ended up clammy, his breathing always dragged on, and his heart would always get tighter, as would his baggy sweatpants.

And it was always so good, because, by then, Mark had already learnt to bite his earlobe while voicing his wishes before moving to his neck. Had already learnt to do it softly until he reached his collarbones. Had already learnt to press fleeting kisses there and whisper one or two compliments while his hands wandered. Had already learnt to drive Donghyuck completely crazy.

“Mark Lee, I can’t focus like this.”

“Then turn it off.” Mark muttered.

“No.” He swallowed, barely shaking his head or making any real effort to get away from his boyfriend’s teeth on his skin. Donghyuck really did love neck kisses after all.

He especially loved when Mark got like this—needy and almost desperate, his usual careful hands gripping a little too hard at his hip, muttering praises that turned into less than innocent suggestions of all the things he wanted to do to Donghyuck.

But maybe he loved it a bit too much, because when he reopened his eyes, after what couldn’t have been more than a few seconds and a completely different character talking to Ryan Reynolds showed on the screen, Donghyuck had no idea what had happened.

“Wait, who’s this blonde girl?” He squinted at the computer. “I can’t believe I’m getting lost watching a romcom.” Mark’s breath was warm against his skin when he chuckled, Donghyuck slapping his arm without any conviction. “This is your fault.”

And again, Mark went back to not answering verbally. Choosing to sink his teeth a little deeper onto the base of his neck close to his shoulder. Donghyuck whimpered quietly, not even trying to keep feigning indifference anymore because it wasn’t just Mark that was getting into it.

“Hyung, I don’t know anything that’s going on in the movie.” He said, licking his lips and tipping his head to the side to give Mark more space like he even needed it.

“Turn it off.” He heard from his neck.

This time, he didn’t refuse. Without bothering to exist the movie or turn it off first, Donghyuck closed his computer, pushing it to the side next to the wall so there wasn’t any chance of it falling to the ground when he shook off Mark’s arms from him to throw his legs on each side of his boyfriend’s body.

“Not even one movie.” Donghyuck quirked an eyebrow, looking down at him.

Mark smiled. “You can pick again next time?” He said, sounding more like a question.

“Oh—I _will_. I’ll make you sit through all the movies with that one Twitter guy.”

“Not Noah Centineo, babe.”

“All of them.” He grinned, kissing all the same spots on Mark as he had done earlier.

“Okay.” Mark sighed happily, hands moving up his legs to interlock behind his hips. “I guess I deserve that.”

Smiling, he leaned down to press their lips together, replacing Mark’s teeth on his own bottom lip with light nibbles and his tongue that never failed to elicit the prettiest of sounds from his boyfriend.

Donghyuck loved many things. His family and the playful banter his siblings put him through, the Shinee posters still covering the back of the door to his childhood room, the memory of his first time over at Renjun’s house and how soft his friend actually looked whenever he let himself go, his gaming sessions with Yangyang that joined their friend group a few months into high school, and Donghyuck loved Mark’s sloppy movements—pressing him down onto his own lap, palms pressed to his ass as he messily tried to make Donghyuck grind against him like they did in the teen movies Donghyuck used to watch when he was younger.

“You taste so much like deep-fried squid right now, I kinda want to eat your lips.” He uttered.

“Please don’t do that.” Mark mumbled. Donghyuck moved backwards in an attempt to make it easier to reach his jaw, only realising his hips pressed a little harder against Mark when a quiet moan escaped him.

“Should I stop kissing you, then?”

“No.” Mark replied in a rush. “Keep kissing me, just don’t eat my lips.”

Chuckling into the kiss, Donghyuck nibbled lightly, getting a small gasp in return. “I can still bite, right?”

“Yeah,” Mark nodded eagerly. “You can definitely bite.”

And bite Donghyuck did. At his bottom lip, his ears, each of the moles on his neck, again and again, until Mark’s groan replayed in his brain from beneath him.

Mark’s hands were under his shirt, fingernails etching on his back like splinters. Donghyuck would have backed away, but the pain translated itself into sparks of pleasure rushing through his veins and all the way to his teeth as he latched onto his boyfriend’s neck once more.

The scent of his skin faint since Mark wasn’t one to wear colognes or perfumes, but Donghyuck was familiar with his smell by now. A familiar pinch of the fabric softener the place in front of his dorm block offered from his clothes, a soft rush of vanilla from the newly changed shampoo brand, then there was Mark’s actual smell and no fruit or flower to compare it to.

It was just sweet (although his skin would be a bit salty whenever Donghyuck licked his body), a shy thing that almost always got overshadowed by the other—little—smells on him. Yet, it was Donghyuck’s favourite. And it would stick to his clothes whenever Mark borrowed a sweatshirt or a jacket because he had misread the forecast.

Sweet was exactly how Mark tasted on his teeth, his tongue, his lips sucking and kissing and letting him know how desperately he missed being with him like this—without having to worry about his roommate walking in, about what class he would have the next day and whether or not he could miss it but always deciding against it in the end.

That was the main reason. Fuck, that was the main reason.

They were going to move in together and Donghyuck would have all the time in the world to be with Mark like this. To be with Mark however he wanted.

And Donghyuck wanted him naked, legs shaking under his weight, mouth open and moaning, eyes focused on his face so he wouldn’t miss even the smallest of creases in Mark’s eyebrows.

But Donghyuck wanted him dressed in his painfully cringe-inducing pyjamas (“Less Monday, More _Sun_ day?” he asked the first time he slept over at Mark’s room. “Please…don’t…mention it, my dad thought it was extremely clever.” Mark replied, blushing all the way to his ears), his incredibly unsexy briefs (“Please tell me you don’t call your dick Kraken.” he joked, but only half-heartedly. “Huh?” Mark’s eyebrows furrowed, from his question and his hands clutching a towel and drying his hair. “Your boxers are threatening to release the Kraken.” Donghyuck pointed and again, Mark blushed all the way to his ears), his wavy hair all messy because he around moved too much in his sleep.

“Hyung,” Donghyuck mumbled into the kiss.

Yet nothing changed. Mark made no movements to stop, digging the pads of his fingertips further into his sides instead. But Donghyuck couldn’t—wouldn’t—complain. Oh no. Donghyuck would just fall further into his boyfriend’s touch, press down harder onto his crotch because Mark always tasted so sweet whenever he whined into his mouth.

“It’s later.”

“Hm?” Mark hummed through swollen, spit-slicked lips, his pretty eyes barely open.

“Mark Lee, it’s later.” Donghyuck’s voice a low whisper in his ear, a kiss in the junction where it met his jaw. “I’ll play you a song.”

“You’ll what?”

“Play you a song.” He smiled as innocently as he could, pretending he couldn’t feel Mark’s excitement under him.

“Right now?” Mark swallowed.

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

Mark blinked rapidly, mouth hanging open. “No,” he gulped harshly, legs wriggling as if he was trying to find a comfortable position. Which he probably was. “No problem at all.”

Despite trying to not make it obvious, Mark’s lie was easy to catch as he got off his lap to grab the guitar. Donghyuck quirked an eyebrow at his boyfriend, still squirming about in his bed, a small pout on his pink lips.

“Are you ready, hyung?” He joked. “I’m going to blow you away, I’m really good now.”

Although the mumbling Mark let out lost itself in the pout of his mouth, Donghyuck didn’t need him to spell out his words to know what he said. The blush on his skin and soft panting already told him enough, loud and clear while he moved to get Mark’s guitar out of its case.

The light in the room reflected on the guitar, the black ink shining as he rested the left side of it on his leg after sitting back down, the pads of his fingers brushing against the strings as softly as possible so the glimmer in Mark’s eyes remained solely lustful.

In reality, Donghyuck didn’t actually have a song to play. The only times he had any contact with guitars were when he visited Mark’s dorm room and his roommate was still away. And he did very little besides ogling at how attractive his boyfriend looked with a guitar perched on his leg, the muscles in his back moving ever so slightly and barely visible from where Donghyuck watched.

He only strummed once, one single chord that Mark had taught him a while ago and he couldn’t recall the name of because Mark’s fingers, the way his voice sounded when he whispered, his knees pressing to Donghyuck’s legs had stolen all of his attention then. But one chord was enough, the sound reverberated and Mark’s eyes still sparkled when they widened.

“ _Woah_ —what?” He blurted out.

“I’m good, aren’t I?”

“Have you been practising?” Mark’s voice was a tone higher than usual, passing through the small gap of surprise on his mouth. “How come you’re so good now?”

“Told you.” Donghyuck smirked, fingers gliding up the neck of the guitar—the squeaky sound of the strings he loved so much following until he reached the top.

Not particularly practising, it was mostly due to him watching the videos he had taken of Mark playing a few weeks back. That and the lost times he would try to make time go by faster by busing himself with something while Mark was stuck in his two-hour long showers—which reminded Donghyuck that he would have to come up with something to make his showers shorter once they moved in together.

But not at the moment. After kissing the way they did, his lips still a little bigger than normal, his thoughts would all reach the same conclusion. Foggy bathroom, the air dense and heavy and warm, Mark’s skin a little rosier than natural because he tended to keep the water hot. Discarding his own clothes, leaving them falling from the dirty laundry basket, trying hard not to slip as he entered the stall. Mark blinking rapidly—washing the vanilla-scented shampoo from his eyes—starring at him in surprise. Donghyuck pushing him until his back came in contact with the wall, the forsaken temperature of the water close to burning his skin. Mark’s moans definitely lighting his insides on fire. It wouldn’t help make his showers shorter at all.

“This finger should go here,” Mark corrected him, grabbing his middle finger and placing it down on the third fret of the sixth string and waiting patiently from him to strum. Smile breaking on his lips when the strings vibrated. “Like that, very good.”

“It hurts.” Donghyuck whined after a few seconds, clutching his fingers in his palm like he used to do when he got hurt as a child. “How the hell can you handle playing longer than a minute?”

Mark took his hand, pressing his lip down on the pads of his fingers. “It’s just practice.”

With blushing cheeks, Donghyuck passed him the guitar, smiling at the surprised sound let out at his slightly dramatic flinching as Mark tried for a comfortable position. He watched in silence, Mark’s fingertips going pale with how hard he pressed them against the strings. Even like that, they still looked beautiful. Long and thin and delicate even after years of playing guitar. Donghyuck could watch his hands for hours, and he would be happily doing so if not for Mark’s voice ringing in his ears.

“I finally learnt how to play Say So.”

“Hm?”

“Say So.” Mark repeated, eyebrows curving in the middle as he reached for his phone. “The Doja Cat song? I’ve sent it to you like five times.”

Donghyuck tugged at his hands, tearing one away from the device and bringing it to his face to leave kisses at his fingertips—rough and coarse from spending most of his free time with his guitar. “I forgot to listen to it, sorry baby.”

Time passed by quickly. Mark playing, apologising when he missed a couple of chords. Donghyuck singing along to every song, searching the lyrics for the ones he didn’t know. A smile on Mark’s lips, a grip on his heart from how full every second with Mark was, and a banging on the wall, from the same neighbour that almost always interrupted his sleep with his incredibly loud music.

Mark’s finger halted completely, eyes bulging like a child who had been caught doing something wrong. Donghyuck couldn’t help the laugh escaping his mouth, or himself from pinching his boyfriend’s cheeks before he kneeled in front of the wall to answer with a banging of his own fists.

“What are you doing?” Mark panicked.

“Reminding him that if I have to listen to his shitty EDM every Friday, he can listen to us tonight.”

“You like EDM.”

“Not at three in the morning when I’m trying to sleep.”

Holding onto his wrist, Mark tugged him back down. “Stop, your neighbour is scary.”

The guy next door wasn’t scary at all, just difficult to be around because he always had his headphones pressed into his ears and never apologised for the times he bumped into Donghyuck. But Mark looked so adorable with his swollen lips pursued in a pout he couldn’t help but do whatever he asked.

Donghyuck rolled his eyes, betrayed by the smile tugging on the corner of his lips. “Hey, you’re cute.” He pushed his knuckles against Mark’s cheek.

“I’m not _just_ cute.” Mark frowned, pulling at his arm just hard enough for him to almost fall on top of him. “I was sexy earlier, right?”

Not expecting him to say that, Donghyuck chuckled. The indents of the guitar strings still visible on his fingers when his hand cupped Mark’s cheek. “Super sexy.” He assured.

Mark nodded, tipping his head forward until he reached his lips again. Donghyuck truly loved a lot of things in his life, in his relationship, so many things that he couldn’t even count them on his hands. But one of his favourites was whenever Mark acted like this, needy and not bothering to hide or hold back. Just Mark putting everything in every kiss, every bite and squeeze on his hips, his legs, his ass when he pulled him back onto his lap.

“Hey,” Donghyuck did his best to speak with his bottom lip in Mark’s teeth. Mark didn’t care to do more than just hum back. “What did you think?”

“About?”

“The song I played.”

Spring had always been when Seoul looked the prettiest. The snow melted, the colours of nature popped on his bus rides back from Ansan, the rains were few and far between and he met Mark in spring.

He could recall the meal they first shared, the blush on Mark’s ears when he realized he had forgotten his credit card, the tone in his voice when he promised Donghyuck he wouldn’t forget the next time. It had been warm that day, the sun almost as bright as the twinkles in Mark’s eyes under his bedroom light when he pulled away to barely open them.

It was warm now too.

“You played one chord.” He chuckled.

Donghyuck slapped his chest playfully. “I did it really well.”

“Hm,” Mark agreed, nodding with a lazy smile barely tugging at the corner of his lips. “Really almost blew me away.”

“ _Almost_?”

“Do you think one chord is enough to get to me?” Mark teased. The adorable jerk.

“Asshole.” Donghyuck scoffed with a grin, his hand still on Mark’s chest—pushing him further down against the headrest of his bed.

He could tell Mark wanted more. It was always easy to tell with him. Donghyuck figured Mark was an extremely clingy person, always making sure to be touching him whenever they were alone but as time went by and they grew more comfortable around one another and in their relationship, Mark seemed to have learnt he wouldn’t be going anywhere.

Thankfully Mark still had his moments, when he would throw his arms around Donghyuck and pull him as close as physically possibly or tug at his hands until he pocketed his phone and let him find a home with his cheek pressed to his chest.

But most of those moments happened at times like this, with Mark’s breath hitting the top of his head, his voice breaking as it reached his ears, nails scratching the small of his back and hands slipping down underneath the worn-out Adidas sweatpants Donghyuck got from the back of his drawers whenever it got chillier.

“We should go to sleep.” He said into the kiss.

“No.” Mark replied, scratching at his boxers.

With the force Mark was kissing him with, Donghyuck backed away—parting their lips to slightly throw his head back, a satisfied sigh breaking through. “We have to start studying tomorrow, remember?”

“I don’t mind failing.”

“Yeah, right.” He laughed.

It was funny to say the least, because while Donghyuck cared for his studies, Mark always made a huge deal about his grades. Most of it came from his background, the ever-growing expectations to fulfil but then there was a part that was just him. Mark would always clean out his room at the end of the week, meticulously going over every speck of dust, every pencil and pen out or place. He would sort of the trash, both his own and his roommate’s after a silent agreement that if he wanted to recycle he would have to do it himself. Only after folding all of his clothes and putting them away would he sit at his desk, lamp pointed at the books and computer he would lose the rest of his night to. And every morning that came after, Donghyuck would wake up with a text wishing him a goodnight at almost four in the morning.

Studying was nowhere near Mark’s mind now, and if Donghyuck could read it, he doubted there would be anything other than the way Mark’s hands went back to moving his hips against himself and squeezing after every point of contact suddenly became too little to actually satisfy.

Donghyuck’s right fingers carded in the back of his head, tugging at his brown hair as his other hand pulled him closer. Maybe at other times it wouldn’t have been enough for him either, but Donghyuck was completely satisfied with all of Mark’s almost inaudible grunts.

“We should really go to sleep now,” He repeated, pecking Mark’s parted lips and letting go of his hair to pull his hands out of his pants. “My leg is cramping.”

Without waiting for an answer this time around, Donghyuck grabbed onto his shoulders to lift himself up without struggling too much or falling because his leg had actually started to cramp after sitting down like that for so long. A single dry laugh interrupting him as he aimlessly searched for his slippers.

Mark was red, eyelids dropping as he breathed out heavily into his own palms. “You’re so fucking mean.”

“Woah,” He gasped playfully. “What the hell did I do? I was just kissing my boyfriend.”

Hearing the tone in his voice, Mark’s eyebrow rose—the expression in his eyes growing even more pitiful when he looked down, hand barely moving to motion at the obvious bulge in his pants that Donghyuck was deliberately choosing to ignore.

“Since it looks like it’ll take you a while, I’ll go to the bathroom first.” He smiled innocently before making his way out the door, closing it as soon as Mark started groaning again.

The hallways were empty, the lack of even one lost person coming back from their part-time job enough of a sign to tell him it was probably later than he had imagined.

When he arrived at the bathroom, Donghyuck found it to be—thankfully—empty as well. That particular bathroom was only used by his unit—three different rooms and a total of five people because one of the guys had dropped out last minute before the new semester started. It wasn’t the worst, Donghyuck could still hear the panic in Renjun’s voice when he found out he would be sharing a bathroom with eight people he didn’t know.

He grabbed his toothbrush, swearing when the toothpaste fell onto his fingers. Looking up at the mirrors, he was surprised at how rosy his cheeks were. Lips a little swollen from all the biting Mark had been doing but he couldn’t complain. Not at all. He was just as affected as Mark was.

It wasn’t that Donghyuck didn’t want more. Truth be told, he always wanted more when Mark was involved. More time to be with him, more places to visit, more opportunities and chances to grow together because his dreams had been larger than life ever since he was young. Of course, he always wanted more physical things with him too. To kiss him deeper, to squeeze him harder, to have Mark take everything and give him everything he wanted. Oh, Donghyuck could count the days he could spend—possibly the rest of his life.

But they had eaten not long ago, he hadn’t prepared at all since he only found out they would have the room to themselves a few hours before Mark was supposed to get there and he was sure Mark hadn’t either. And mostly, Donghyuck just wanted to be with him like that tonight, kissing and touching, making each other go breathless and pant, getting Mark excited—making him focus solely on the flicks of his tongue on his ears, the nibbling on his bottom lip. Just to enjoy his boyfriend like that was enough too. Because everything was always perfect when Mark was involved.

“You should go right now.” Donghyuck said as soon as he walked back into his room. Mark’s head whipping around to look at him, his left hand gripping at his phone.

“Go where?”

“The bathroom.”

“Oh, right.” Mark nodded, moving his legs off the bed and kicking his socked feet around for the old Shin Chan slippers Donghyuck had brought after his last visit home.

Donghyuck threw himself on his bed, grabbing his computer and crawling to the end of the mattress to leave it on his desk while Mark crouched by his bag, reaching inside to grab his toothbrush and the toiletry bag he kept his facemasks and creams in.

The playful jabs were on the tip of his tongue and he tried but he couldn’t keep himself from teasing him when Mark was _still_ walking funny. “Be quick though, it’s a shared bathroom.”

“Oh my God—” Mark panicked, eyes bulging as he looked out towards the corridor that Donghyuck was sure were still empty.

“You’re kinkier than I thought, you know.”

“ _Shut up_.” Mark yelled in a whisper.

“Have fun, Minhyung-ah.”

Teasing him was always fun. Mark was so responsive to everything, it filled him with a huge sense of belonging. Mark shook his head in disbelief, muttering yet another breathless; “Oh my God,” before closing the door.

Mark would never do anything like that in public but he took way longer in the bathroom than Donghyuck was expecting—or maybe it was just the fact that he was actually slightly tired finally catching up to him.

He forced his eyes opened, the brightness of his phone screen too strong for the sleep weighing on his eyelids. It wasn’t too late, almost one in the morning, but Donghyuck was used to seeing dawn breaking with Yangyang laughing in his headphones a little more than he liked or was willing to admit.

When Mark returned, the door closed with a quiet click and the bed dipped slowly under his weight. He patted his leg softly, Donghyuck swallowed, moving to give him more space.

“Thanks, baby.” He barely heard Mark say.

With almost no energy left to move around until he was laying on his right side, he opened his left eye to find the light escaping through the cracks of his blinds softly outlining Mark’s beautiful side profile. A few lost strands of his bangs going in different directions, the long eyelashes Donghyuck always told him he was jealous of, the small bump on his nose, his lips slightly parted.

“Mark Lee,” Donghyuck whispered, inching closer to him to lay his head on his chest. “You’re so cute when you’re frustrated.”

That night, he fell asleep to the rhythm of Mark’s breathing, the slow rise of his stomach beneath the arm Donghyuck hugged him with, his boyfriend’s fingers brushing light caresses on his shoulder as he reminded, “Voice of an angel, yet you’re such a little devil sometimes.” And pressed a kiss to his forehead.

When he woke, he was inches away from falling off the bed, leg splayed over Mark’s crotch and making his shirt rise from his movements. Mark’s skin was soft, tender when the bulb of his knee accidentally pushed against it as he got up.

His throat was scratchy, lips dry from all the kissing. Donghyuck set the mug he kept on his bedside table down carefully after taking a long gulp, moving quickly to grab the clothes he laid out the previous day.

And he should probably wake Mark up as well, so his sleeping schedule wouldn’t suffer. But Mark’s left cheek was squished against his pillow, lips slightly parted, deep breaths whistling in the air. Donghyuck couldn’t possibly wake him up—no—he could only chuckle and softly poke the pimple Mark had been clawing at for the best part of the last few days before leaving for the bathroom.

Smelling like his coconut shampoo and rubbing the lotion out of his hands, he walked back into his room, foolishly awaiting to already see Mark sitting in his bed, looking all adorable and confused.

However, his boyfriend snorted, deep breaths bouncing off the wall Donghyuck would always sleep pressed against whenever Mark spent the night over because his bed was too small.

“Baby, it’s time to wake up.” He patted Mark’s shoulders softly. “We have to start studying for our exams, remember?”

A tiny choke later, Mark’s head jumped from the pillows. “Wha—exams?”

“Yeah,” Donghyuck giggled. “It’s already the fourth of April.”

“Fourth?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “One month left, so come on. Up you go.”

Tiredly, Mark groaned. “Do you have any of the cereal I brought over left?”

“No,” Donghyuck shook his head, brushing the bangs off his eyes. “But I still have the side dishes I brought from home.”

Mark only hummed in response, taking a deep breath that apparently put him right back to sleep along with Donghyuck’s finger carding through his hair and scratching lightly at his scalp. But he couldn’t complain, not at all. Because, once again, Mark’s left cheek was red, imprinted with the outline of his pillow when he turned to his right side. Donghyuck could only chuckle and lose himself with a soft smile.

“Hyung.” He tried again, poking Mark’s sides before letting his hands run down his body and settle on his butt. “Mark Lee.”

“Wh—re—doing?” He asked, a few words getting lost in the folds of the pillowcase.

“I read the lyrics.” Donghyuck smiled. “So, here I am, grabbing your ass,” He patted his boyfriend’s butt. “And telling you to get up.”

“What lyrics?”

“You were all upset yesterday when I said I didn’t know it and now you don’t even remember.” Donghyuck laughed. “Doja Cat.”

“Oh,” Mark’s face flushed a little. “I didn’t mean it like that, though.”

“Should I stop, then?”

A beat came, Mark’s eyes fluttering. “…No.” He whispered.

Donghyuck laughed, leaning down to press a kiss to his temples and giving a quick squeeze to his ass. “Get up, hyung. The food is getting cold.”

With a groan and his right eye still closed—the other barely cracked open—Mark sat up. Donghyuck marvelled, chuckled at his hair spiking up in different directions while his boyfriend scratched his lower back and forced himself off the bed, clutching his toothbrush in his right hand, clothes falling from his left and his towel hanging from his shoulder, feet lazily dragging him out of the room and towards the shared bathroom.

After Mark’s shower, his socked feet and big toe peeking through, reheating the food a second time and eating, they cleaned the dishes. Donghyuck on washing duty because Mark was still sleepy and promised he would finally do a good job with drying.

If he followed through with his promise Donghyuck would never know. Not even two bowls in, Mark rested his head on his shoulder, breathing in deeply the smell of the soap and scrunching his face immediately after.

“You know people can just walk right in.”

“Hm,” Mark mumbled in his neck. “I know.”

“And you also know that you have to stop hugging me to dry the dishes?”

“I know.” Mark nodded, without letting go. “There’s less than three months left ‘till our one year anniversary.”

Thankfully nobody walked in, and Donghyuck enjoyed every single one of the kisses Mark planted on his shoulder so much, time flew in even faster than it did these past nine months by his side. Only to find them in his room again, drowning in the pages of their books, in the light of his computer screen reflecting on his face. Donghyuck stopping every other hour to stretch out his growing back pain, and Mark trying to rid himself of the knots in his neck from leaning against his bed while sitting on the floor, shuddering when his own fingers cracked.

“Just sit here with me.”

“There’s not enough space for both of us and all of our books and notes.” Mark reminded him. “It’s okay, don’t worry. It’ll go away in a few days.”

But of course, he worried, because even if Mark would do it as silently as possible, Donghyuck never slept through all his moans and groans minutes on end while he tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in at the end of the day. And he would sigh, ask Mark to lay with his belly down so he could sit on his legs and do his best to give him a message and not fall asleep himself on his boyfriend’s back.

The next day would be more of the same, fighting to keep their eyes open, their minds as light as possible, but when night arrived, it would be Mark messaging his back and squeezing his sides to wish him a goodnight.

When the open visits started, they came at full force in the middle of studying for their exams. At least they had remembered to schedule one right after the other to find an apartment as fast as possible.

It was with a bad taste in his mouth that Donghyuck let the first apartment go. It was perfect to every single one of his standards. Although small, there was enough space for the both of them to live comfortably and even more. The kitchen had more than one counter and a microwave that told him he wouldn’t have to cook every day. The living room was barely existent, but a two-sweat sofa would fit there just fine, which meant they could have people over if they ever wanted to. And there was enough light in the rest of the apartment that Mark didn’t even complain much when he saw no windows in the room. The only thing was that it exceed their budget by a landslide, and it was also the furthest apartment away from their university on their list.

He wanted out of the second as soon as he greeted the landlady and was met with disdain in her eyes but swallowed it down with all the things he wished he could say because it was Mark’s favourite out of all the apartments they chose. It was even smaller than the first, with no living room or extra counters, but this one was on the rooftop and had a renovated bathroom and two bedrooms—both with windows. Donghyuck tried to close the tab when he saw it, fearing Mark was indirectly telling him they wouldn’t be sharing a bed when there were two, but eventually pulled the owner’s contact number from the website when Mark reminded him they would be putting the beds side to side.

He kept quiet for the whole visit, letting Mark ask all the questions and inspect all pieces of furniture and cracks in the walls. Donghyuck stayed aside by the kitchen after taking a look around, frown overtaking his face when he noticed his boyfriend returning to where he was, shaking his head as subtly as he could, landlady following behind his trails.

Mark’s expression didn’t soften and Donghyuck only asked when they were two stops from their dorm complex after Mark released what would probably be his hundredth sigh of the day.

“There was a chimney right next to the window of the main room.” His boyfriend pouted. “And the water pressure was absolute shit. All that renovation for nothing.”

They didn’t visit any more apartments for a few days, getting cancellations or reschedules for the remaining few.

It took a toll on his days, his studies. Yangyang notched him on the ribs one Tuesday, waking Donghyuck woke up just in time to thank the waitress for the coffee he shouldn’t be having at almost ten in the evening.

“You know Renjun will kill you if you don’t finish your half of the essay, right?”

“It’s just—“

“I know you’re not about to say it’s just an elective,” His friend laughed, snatching what was left of his now cold fries. “It’s _Renjun_.”

Donghyuck groaned weakly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Why did I even say yes to working with him?”

“Because he’s the best student in the class.” Yangyang rose his eyebrow, stealing his napkin to clean the grease from his fingers, carefully as to not chip away any more of his nail polish. “And you’re a bit of a masochist sometimes, honestly.”

Before he could come up with an answer, Renjun walked out of the bathroom, hands locked to his sweater and fixing the creases in his clothes. Squinted as he made his way back towards their table, glasses sliding down his nose.

“You tell him.” Donghyuck squeezed Yangyang’s arm.

“Yeah— _no_.”

At his best friend’s lack of hesitation, his mouth fell open. “Please,” Donghyuck tried again, only one step away from _actually_ pleading. Although it wouldn’t really work on Yangyang. “You know I’ve been busy looking for an apartment.”

“I thought you said all the open visits you had got cancelled?”

“Well, yeah but I’m still catching up on almost two weeks’ worth of work and studying for midterms.” He ignored Yangyang’s playful grin when he noticed Renjun was almost at the table. “Come on, Yangyang. Renjun never gets mad at you.”

Yangyang didn’t have enough time to answer. And Renjun miraculously gave him another few days to finish his part of their paper without any impertinent nagging. Donghyuck never asked why, choosing to take whatever he could get, but it probably had something to do with the obvious blush on Yangyang’s ears that he always pretended to miss.

When he finished the essay, two weeks until midterms, the visits started again.

Third apartment was okay. Exactly like it had been on the website. Small but liveable, one room with two beds, a desk on the tiniest of hallways. The bathroom was definitely the best-looking part of the house, with a shiny new bathtub and amazingly clean tiles on the walls. Donghyuck spotted two counters, three cupboards, and it was probably the best apartment they would visit, the one with the best value for what they would be getting, but it didn’t feel like home. And from the look in Mark’s eyes when he turned around, he agreed.

“It’s so lifeless.”

“I mean, that’d probably change if we moved in, wouldn’t it?”

“Well, probably.” Donghyuck frowned. “But—I don’t know—I didn’t like it.”

Mark sighed, patting his right thigh. “I know what you mean. It didn’t feel ours.”

“Yeah. It’s not us.”

The only things he remembered from the fourth were the huge windows, creaky and uncomfortable bed, and the loudest neighbours that rushed all of the blood in the landlady’s body to her cheeks, a hundred excuses and one apologies out of her mouth.

By now, Donghyuck was tired and he could tell that Mark was starting to get worn out as well. Looking for the right apartment was much harder than either of them had anticipated. And maybe there wouldn’t ever be a right apartment, maybe they would just have to settle for what was fine. But he couldn’t help but want more than just fine.

While any place with Mark became the right place for him, Donghyuck wanted their first home together to be perfect. Like the ones he used to see on television, in the middle of Seoul, in a building they owned but he wasn’t a teenager anymore. He had to keep things realistic, had to keep it affordable, so he just wanted something perfect for _them_.

Yet the fifth apartment wasn’t perfect at all. The kitchen was incredibly constricted, only one counter where they—he—could cook, the refrigerator would probably not be able to fit all of the side dishes his and Mark’s family would most definitely end up sending with them on their next visit. There was no living room, only an empty desk without a chair placed against a wall, the tiny bathroom had been renovated but looked to be overcrowded with the addition of a bathtub that wasn’t even present in the photos. At least the bedroom was closed off, and Mark’s desired window might have been small, but it was there, tucked away on the furthest corner of the room.

Yet, somehow, it pulled at his heartstrings.

There was no instant connection, no fireworks going off in his brain, no sweating of his hands. It wasn’t anything like Donghyuck had imagined or daydreamt it to be. It was just Mark, turning the knobs of the smallest stove Donghyuck had ever seen in his life. It was just Mark, checking the pressure of the water in the bathroom. It was just Mark, standing by the blue door that separated the room from the rest of the house—pulling and pushing and eyes focused on the nails to make sure it was well built. It was just Mark, walking over to the window he insisted so heavily on having and peering outside. It was just Mark, in an apartment that demanded way too high of a deposit for such a reduced space, in an apartment that could be their future home. All of it was just Mark.

“—convenience store, like you said.” His said, breath condensing on the glass.

“Hyung.” Donghyuck’s mouth moved on its own and Mark’s head snapped back at the tone of his voice. “This one.”

“This one?” Mark furrowed, eyes wandering around the room. “Did your Spidey senses go off?”

“No.”

“Then?”

His senses only reached a near future, and his boyfriend’s hand when he finally got home after a long day of classes. Mark would kick off his shoes in the entrance, the door to their room would always stay open during the daytime and Mark would flop on the bed, sighing against his chest as Donghyuck patted his shoulder for his efforts.

On warm summer days, not even the candles Doyoung had bought would suffice—he would poke his sides until Mark dragged himself to the bathroom. Donghyuck would make use of his time, heat up the jjapaghetti Mark would probably end up almost burning the previous night. And Mark would catch him mid-work, wrap his arms around his waist, lay a kiss on his shoulder and then his chin and watch silently to learn, for the nth time.

“It’s just you.” Donghyuck admitted with ease. Because Mark’s eyebrows pinched even further together and his lip twitched slightly from confusion. “I just had a vision of you. You in this apartment, and now I want to live through it.”

Because Mark’s pretty face instantly reddened. “Lee Donghyuck, you can’t say things like that.” He said, hiding behind a closed fist. “Are you sure?”

Donghyuck nodded, more sure than he had ever been in his life despite his stomach turning and his legs threatening to give out if he moved any faster.

When they returned two weeks later, the landlord greeted them with a lease contract in hand. Donghyuck stopped to take a last look at his boyfriend before their lives were—undoubtedly—completely mixed together, and all of his days begun and ended with Mark by his side.

Mark’s fingers trembled ever so slightly, the ink on the paper smudging the right side of his hand but the moment he turned to pass the pen to Donghyuck and let his eyes fall onto his face, he smiled. Mark smiled the fondest, most genuine smile he had seen yet.

And Donghyuck signed the papers without any hesitation.

**Author's Note:**

> [hiding] hi..he..hello..
> 
> i honestly have nothing to say about this omg, i was finally able to finish this after a whole month (LITERALLY) and i do not know anything, I just wanted to write them going through apartment options since they’re really going through with it and then a ((little)) bit of making out because kissing is the best thing ever so, idk about anything else 💔💔 ALSO I KNOW THEY’RE A LITTLE CRAZY FOR MOVING IN TOGETHER AFTER JUST ONE YEAR BUT LETS NOT TALK ABOUT IT
> 
> theres literally all there is to it omg ok!! question what is your favorite thing about slice of life because mine is probably being able to write/read about things like doing dishes BECAUSE????
> 
> i Am already writing part 4 (if u care i actually have like 9 documents including part 4 opened already) because i can’t genuinely keep myself focused on only one thing at a time but I’ll try to be a little faster because I kinda actually like their relationship in this and I care them but hhhh I digress!! 
> 
> also haeyang best friends is now my serotonin booster so they are besties here <3 and renyang side couple bc they’re kinda driving me crazy atm <3
> 
> btw if any of you are following my old twitter account, you can unfollow it, i have a new one and i wont be using that one anymore!! which reminds me I was thinking about changing my username here but im not sure if im going to yet, I like this username bc it reminds me of hamsters but the one I have saved is kinda pretty so idk 💔
> 
> ANYWAYS THATS ALL I THINK HHHH stream 90’s love! (p.s. what do u think about sungchan, i like sungchan very much, sungchan is very cool to me) 
> 
> thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I hope all of you are well, both mentally and physically ♡♡
> 
> p.s. english is not my first language so please feel free to let me know if there are any mistakes or if anything sounds weird and also let's ignore my incapability of writing summaries ♡♡


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